If it was easy, anyone could do it!

The story of the 2013 Craig Gives Back-2-Back

Cross-Canada Bicycle Tour

QUEBEC > ONTARIO

DAY #26 Thursday, August 29, 2013 Hands Free Bob!

Day#26: 165kms Oka National Park, QC to Ottawa, ON

According to our schedule it was to take two days to get from Oka National Park to Ottawa which
would have us arrive on Friday and then Saturday was scheduled as a day off kind of. We were
to visit the one and only location of one of our charities, Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind. Bob
and I had discussed this in advance and as it had been two weeks since our last day off, we
decided to do the distance of almost 170kms in one day and then we could enjoy two days off
instead of just the one. The upcoming terrain would continue to be relatively easy and fast with
no serious climbs, and with mostly a level route, so we were confident we could pull it off.
We would have crossed over the Ottawa River into the Province of Ontario only a short distance
from Oka National Park, however a reception was scheduled at the Home Hardware in
Papineauville, QC, so we would stay on the Quebec side of the river until the town of MassonAngers where we would travel via ferry to Ontario. We had been in communication with my
sister Jennie who lived in Ottawa and she was planning to meet us at the ferry terminal on the
Ontario side. She had friends in Ottawa who were avid cyclists and had provided her a
suggested route that would take us from the ferry terminal, into the city and ultimately to
Jennies residence on McQuaig Street, where we would stay the next three nights.
For now we had a long distance to travel and once again the sun was shining, so after each
stuffing a couple granola bars into our mouths we packed up and hit the road to find a place to

have breakfast. By now I had a knack for picking out good spots to get a good, but inexpensive
breakfast and not that we had many options to choose from, but we did find a little restaurant
out in the middle of farming country. At first it did not look promising as there were only a
couple of cars parked out front so we passed it by, but then we realized that a couple cars was
likely half the population out here in rural Quebec so we turned the bike around and headed
inside to get some nice running fried eggs and bacon. Yummy!
With our stomachs full, we now headed to the reception at the Home Hardware in Papineauville
and we were making good time and staying ahead of schedule. I do not like to be late!
Bob had garnered himself a number of nicknames over the course of the ride. Of course the
easy one was Backup Bob when he first filled in for Craig in North Sydney, but there were
many others. It was fun thinking up new nicknames to suit different situations, but today he
would be called Hands Free Bob. As we pedaled along following the Ottawa River towards
Papineauville, Bob received a phone call on his iPhone. As both our iPhones are mounted on our
handlebars, it was easy for him to answer and it turned out to be Sueann Musick, a reporter for
the New Glasgow News back in Pictou County. She happens to be a cousin of Bobs as she is
one of the many MacDonads who live in Pictou County and she wanted to get an update on how
we were making out so she could do a story for the next issue of the newspaper. Bobs
handlebars serve not much more of a purpose than to help him on the seat so he does not
bounce off if we hit a pothole, so it is not a problem if he uses one or both hands to take a phone
call. The interview took almost twenty minutes and we covered almost 10kms in the process. It
was a great example of how to multi task on a bicycle.
We reached Papineauville, but we were well ahead of schedule so we stopped to grab some
lunch so after that the reception, we would be able to head off to catch the ferry in the town
Masson-Angers without any additional stops. We ate our lunch outside on picnic tables and a
young boy came over to inspect our very different looking bicycle and I explained that we were
travelling across the country. He was genuinely interested and it was enjoyable to talk with him
even though it was a bit of a struggle as he spoke virtually no English and I spoke limited French.
I thought I would take the opportunity to confirm the location of the Home Hardware we needed
to find. Google Maps showed me we were close, but we failed to see a sign along the road and
thought who better to ask than someone who lived here. Likely due to the language barrier he
did not understand what we were asking, as he had no idea where it was. Bob and I would
laugh when the young fellow had left as when we headed back out on the road we found out the
Home Hardware was virtually next door to where we just had lunch!
To say the reception at the Home Hardware was low key, would be an understatement. For
whatever reason they were expecting us to have made all the arrangements, so definitely no
cake! The owner was very friendly and we talked for a while and then after he filled our water
bottles, we were off. We travelled for almost half an hour and we were in dire need of a pee
break, so we stopped at a day park. We searched, but could not find an outdoor toilet, but no
worries we were used to peeing in ditches after over 2,700kms on a bicycle, so into the bushes
we went. Of course just at that instant a car pulled into the park so we pretended to be simply
enjoying the scenery. It turned out not to be a random visit, but actually a reporter for a local
paper who had just missed us at the Home Hardware. He had driven almost 10kms hoping to
catch us along the road and to do an interview.
With the interview complete, we were to enjoy more fast cycling on the gently rolling terrain until
we reached our exit and we headed down to the ferry launch to cross over to the Province of
Ontario. The crossing was so busy they actually had five small ferries running back and forth
continuously to prevent a backup of traffic on either side of the river. If you missed one, the
next one would be there to pick you up in fifteen minutes! Having a bicycle we passed the cars

waiting in the line-up and we boarded the first ferry. As we neared the other side we could see
my sister Jennie waiting for us. We were happy to be back with our most awesome support
vehicle and crew and again she was ready for us with coolers full of drinks and food. We headed
up to a gas station parking lot to eat, drink and review the route she had mapped out for us to
get from the country into the city of Ottawa safely. To add a bit of excitement, it was now rush
hour, but most of that traffic would be heading out of the city while we headed in! In theory at
least!
We first had to travel uphill from the river valley and Jennie would lead us up, stopping now and
again to wait as we took our time up the climb as we had already covered almost 150kms today!
We also had taken the opportunity to unload all our extra baggage into Jennies vehicle so we
could travel fast and as soon we reached the top of the hill and turned right we would be flying.
Turning right, the road had a slight downward slope and we were travelling at over 40kms/hr
with Jennie staying behind us with her four way flashers on. There was a section of the road
with no paved shoulder and she planned to stay behind us to hold back traffic, but as soon as we
were through that more dangerous section she would pass us and would go ahead a few
kilometers and stop to wait for us to catch up. I was also running my Google Maps software and
it indicated that we should take an exit off this four lane highway onto a quieter street that ran
parallel and then came back out on the same highway.
Meanwhile Jennie was waiting for us to catch up out on the main highway that we had just left
and was wondering where we had gone to, so she texted Bob. That was another great thing
about iPhone Bob was that he was free to take phone calls or text and if someone needed to
get in touch with us, they quickly learned to do it through Bob as I concentrated on the road and
would never respond until we stopped for either a break or at the end of the day. Even my wife
would go through Bob! Bob texted Jennie our route and the next time she saw us we popped
back out on the highway ahead of her. It was at that time that I saw the overpass ahead. It
was two lanes of traffic travelling both ways, at speeds of 100kms/hr and the paved shoulder we
were on disappeared as soon as it reached the overpass. Bob and I had experienced a few semi
dangerous situations on the bike during this trip, but this one looked just too risky. I slowed
down to assess our options as the rush hour traffic raced past just a metre away from us and
then decided to take the off ramp even though I had no idea where we were now headed!
In Ontario, bicycles are not permitted on 400 series highways. If there is an alternate parallel
route that bicycles can travel it is not an issue, however Ontario is expanding the number of
these highways and impacting cyclists, but that is a whole other discussion. The issue on hand
was that Bob and I were now on a 400 series divided highway knowing we were not supposed to
be there and not sure where we were currently headed. The was a paved shoulder so we did
have space between us and the vehicles racing past, however we did get honked at a couple of
times and not in a nice way as we had mistakenly trespassed on a non bicycle route and we were
feeling some bad karma coming from some of the vehicles. We went only far enough to take the
first off ramp to get away from the madness. We stopped at the top of the off ramp to enter our
current location into Google Maps and see where it would tell us to go.
Google Maps told us to turn left. We had gotten away from the highways, but were still on a
major thoroughfare and it was four lanes of traffic each way, but traffic was travelling slower and
most of the traffic was coming from the opposite direction. Meanwhile Jennie was frantic and
Bob gave her an update to calm her fears. She knew I had been in Ottawa before and would
eventually find my way to her house. It would be a fruitless and frustrating task for her to try
and chase us down through all the traffic, so she would head home to wait for us. There was
really nothing she could do for us anyways all we needed to do was get our lost selves to her
house.

Google Maps now told us to make a left turn at the busy intersection ahead, so I said to Bob Do
you trust me? and when he said Sure I said left turn and he stuck out his arm to signal to
traffic. I checked for traffic coming from behind and then darted across the four lanes of traffic!
We did this again at the next intersection and after working our way from highway to bike path
we ended up at the Ottawa Transit Terminal near the Rideau River. We were getting closer, but
now the battery on my iPhone was almost dead. The good news was the scenery was getting
more and more familiar as we gradually got closer to Jennies house.
There was a large group of people over by the transit building and they waved us over. The
transit employees were putting on a barbeque fundraiser and invited us to have something to eat
and drink. For a change we were not that hungry as we had eaten food that Jennie had brought
when she met us at the ferry terminal and that was not much more than an hour ago. I thought
we had lucked out as who would know this city better than bus drivers! I asked if anyone could
tell us the best route to get to McQuaig Street where Jennie lived and they directed us to a man
who they said would know exactly how to get there. He instructed us to go in the opposite
direction of what I thought we needed to go, and my instincts were telling me he was not
understanding or I was not explaining properly where we were trying to get to. I thanked him,
but before I left I asked one more person who told me to go in the direction I thought we should
go. So now with two out of three in agreement I decided to go with my intuition.
It was not a year previous that my wife and I had visited Ottawa for my nieces wedding and we
took the opportunity to rent a tandem bicycle and enjoy the beautiful paved bicycle paths. I knew
we were not that far away and we should be biking away from the Parliament buildings and not
towards them. The second opinion had confirmed my sense of direction was correct and we
headed off on the bike path, but not before they had their pictures taken with us and they
insisted we each take a t-shirt from the barbeque.
Once we had travelled a kilometer or so along the bike path, things started to appear more
familiar and soon we turned off the path onto the local streets eventually working our way to
Jennies house where a barbeque awaited. We had worked hard to cover over 170kms today,
but could now enjoy the next two days off, kind of.
DAY #27 Friday, August 30, 2013 Bob who???
It is our first full day in the Province of Ontario and to celebrate, we slept in! There was no rush
today as we had arrived a day early and so nothing official was planned as far as CraigGivesBack,
so why not relax. We still had plenty to do, but we now had two days instead of just one to get
everything done.
So after the experience in Newfoundland, I had gone through every piece of equipment, clothing
and even personal items. Everything that I took with me had to have a use or be necessary for
safety reasons. I was so determined to minimize all weight I took only a disposal razor and used
hand soap as a lather to shave my face each morning. When I could not find a small bottle of
contact solution, I bought the larger bottle and poured half it out to reduce the weight. So
imagine my surprise when I went to have a shower after Bob had finished in the washroom and
there on the counter he had left behind a can of shaving cream large enough to last five cross
Canada bicycle trips! Well I said it was up to him, but if at any point during the trip we failed to
summit a hill without having to get off and push the bike, I was blaming it on his can of shaving
cream. Poor pampered Bob would get a lot of teasing over this one!
As part of the planning for the CraigGivesBack trip, we had scheduled a day off in Ottawa not as
simply a day to relax, but actually it would be the best opportunity to have a major tune-up for

Janus. At just under 3,000kms it was not quite halfway, however if we did the maintenance now
everything should be good to go for the remaining 5,400kms.
So during the planning process, my sister Jennie knowing that we would be spending two nights
with her, asked me if there was anything I needed her to do. As Ottawa would be the best
opportunity to have a maintenance check completed on Janus, I asked if she could find a local
bicycle shop that would do the work. There were two challenges, and first the work had to be
done on a Saturday as we originally did not plan on arriving until Friday afternoon and secondly
our bike had two German Rohloff internal hubs both front and rear which would require an oil
change and it not something the average bicycle shop would have the technical skills necessary
to complete. It took a number of phone calls as bicycle shops were eliminated one by one, until
Jennie ended up with one bicycle shop and that was Phat Moose Cycles. The only requirement
was that the bike be dropped off no later than 3:00pm on Friday. This was no problem now as
we arrived almost a day ahead of schedule.
Back in Halifax Amelia Schofield had been working hard with press releases to cities and towns in
advance of our arrival and also she coordinated any receptions that were arranged for
CraigGivesBack at any CNIB, YMCA or Home Hardware locations across Canada. In Ottawa it just
did not work out in the usual way so with the assistance of my sister, a reception was arranged
in the park just down the street from Phat Moose Cycles. So now we had until 1:00pm to do
some tourist things in the capital city so Bob and I headed downtown on Janus and Jennie would
meet us there.
The thrill of getting into the city of Ottawa on a bicycle is definitely more of a challenge than
getting around once inside as there are bike lanes and of course the beautiful paved bike paths
along the rivers and Rideau Canal. Of course we were traveling without any gear or baggage, so
Janus was light and nimble like a race horse and we tried not to exceed the speed limit on the
bicycle paths and yes there are speed limits posted! We met Jennie at the Parliament building
and she had a number of locations selected for some pictures with us, Janus and of course
Stanley and Charlie who oddly only show up when they do not have to pedal. Of course we went
across the street to visit the Terry Fox Memorial as he is the inspiration for our trip and for many,
many others who have followed in his footsteps.
While at the Parliament building posing on the front lawn as Jennie took our picture, we were
approached by two young ladies who introduced themselves as fellow cross Canada cyclists.
They were both from the province of Saskatchewan and had biked to Ottawa or I should say
biked most of the way here. Instead of cycling the challenging hills around Lake Superior they
took the bus from Thunder Bay to Sault Ste. Marie. We would see these buses running from
Ontario to British Columbia and it was a typical Greyhound bus, but it pulled an enclosed trailer
behind. The two girls were able to stow the bicycles in the trailer and enjoy the view from the
windows of the bus. We were jealous, but we had committed to cycling the entire distance so no
bus for us, at least not on this trip. The other thing is you really cannot fully enjoy the changing
scenery like you can from the seat of a bicycle. You use all your senses to enjoy the experience,
the smell and dampness in the air, the breeze on your face, the sound of the traffic and nature.
Our ride was not expected to be easy, nor would we want that as the harder you have to work
the more you savour the experience.
Now we only had time to treat Jennie to lunch and head off to the park for our reception. We
had so many people help us before and during the trip and I wish I could do something to repay
them. I hope they do realize how grateful that Craig, Bob and myself are, and we really could
not have done this without them. It is really the reason we were so darn stubborn and would
wake up each morning and take it one day, one kilometre and one telephone pole at a time to
persevere and not let all those who supported us down. The word quit did not exist in our

vocabulary and we never for an instant thought of never making it all the way to Victoria. We
wished we could have done more for Jennie for all she had done for us both in New Brunswick
and also here in Ottawa, but for now a lunch was all we could offer. I know for myself, but also
for Bob and Craig the trip brought us closer with our friends and relatives and one of the most
wonderful things that came from this trip is how much more I appreciate my family and network
of friends.
The reception at the park was a casual event, no media and no cake, but it was a great
opportunity to have some one-on-one conversations with friends of Jennies that came by to talk
to us and see Janus. We also had the pleasure of being joined by Jennies husband Tim and
their children Vanessa and Andrew. Their oldest daughter Kristin who was working hard keeping
our Facebook page updated lived in Kingston-Waterloo, so she was unable to be in Ottawa for
this visit, but we would get a surprise visit from her later in our tour.
With the reception done we walked Janus less than a block away to Phat Moose Cycles and
owner Kent Dougall planned on having all the work completed by noon Saturday. It was not a
large or fancy bicycle shop and was located in a narrow old building in an older area of the city,
but they seemed like serious bicycle dudes and we really had no other choice. Now we can go
relax for the evening with my sister and her family.
Bob and I are hanging out with Jennie and relaxing at the kitchen table late Friday afternoon,
when my iPhone rings and since I am not riding a bicycle I answer it. We are scheduled for a
live interview on CBC Radio tomorrow morning and it was Giacomo Panico, the host of the show
calling to confirm we will be at the studio on time and that we know where it is. He also wanted
to confirm a few details on our background. Everything sounds good until the end of the call and
he says I will see you and Craig tomorrow morning. I said, You mean Bob and I? to which he
said after a short uncomfortable pause, Whos Bob? Obviously he did not get an updated press
release, as Bob had been Craig for over three weeks now. Giacomo was a little caught off guard
and said he did all his background work on Craig and myself, so I passed the phone to Bob so he
could get the information first hand. He seemed fine once we had explained everything and we
hoped everything would go ok tomorrow morning.
Everyone pitched in to prepare food for a meal together at the Smith residence and Bob and I
were definitely looking forward to a home cooked meal for change! The barbeque was wonderful
and we had more than enough to eat, but my sister also knows I enjoy a beer and not just any
beer, but a beer with personality and taste, like Guinness for example. Bob does not like to
experiment with his food, nor does he experiment with his beer, so it is more of a traditional Bud
for Bob. My niece Vanessa, likes to experiment with food and would bring over he own
wonderful healthy creations, but she also taught me something very cool to do with a Guinness
and a Strongbow Apple Cider. It is called a Black Velvet is created by first pouring the glass
half full with the cider then using a spoon to carefully pour the Guinness over, it allows the
Guinness to stay on top while the cider remains on the bottom. When you take a drink, you get
of mix of both and I must say it was refreshing.
I do not want to give the impression that this was a drinking tour of Canada, as it was far from
that! Bob and I enjoy the odd beer, but the only time we would enjoy one was the odd time
when someone wanted to spoil us! Alcohol was not conducive to a daily endurance ride on a
bike and we stuck to water and pop. We greatly appreciated the attention we were getting at
here in Ottawa and we did not want to be rude to our hosts!

DAY #28 Saturday, August 31, 2013 Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind
It is hard to believe that it was not until 1984 that Canada had its very first school for guide dogs
for the blind. There are now four separate schools, but Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind was
the original school, started by Jane and Bill Thornton. Today Bob and I had an invitation to visit
the school and we were happy that Jennie and her family wanted to go with us.
First thing this morning we had to be at our radio interview with Giacomo Panico at CBC radio in
downtown Ottawa. The show is called In Town and Out and runs from 6:00am to 9:00am.
Our time slot was shortly after 8:00am and we wanted to be early as I hate to be late. Jennie
dropped us off at the front door and the security guard let us in. We were then taken upstairs
and Giacomo came out to meet us before we went into the sound studio with him. I was not
sure what to expect in regards to questions, so had brought my entire schedule with me. I had
printed our schedule before we started the trip and it had every single bit of information needed
to complete the trip on schedule. I had used it as my only reference since we had started in
Newfoundland and it had addresses and phone numbers for every destination as well as
approximate kilometer distances and where we were to be on each day. I spread it out on the
table in front of me and Bob and I waited for Giacomo to ask the first question. The show was
live so there was a bit of pressure to ensure we did not stumble or ramble on with questions.
Within fifteen minutes we were done and out of the building to meet up with Jennie so we could
get back to her house and gather everyone for our visit to Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind.
A couple of interesting things about our radio interview that morning was that Giacomo is an avid
cyclist and triathlete. He had his triathlon bike at the radio station and was wearing his triathlon
outfit under his t-shirt and shorts as when he finished his show at 9:00am he was off to race in a
local triathlon. The other thing was I forgot my schedule on the desk in the sound studio! I did
not realize it until we were back at Jennies house and I almost had a panic attack. Luckily
Amelia has a copy so I had her email me the spreadsheet and I printed a new copy off on
Jennies computer. I would have been lost without it!
At 11:00am we all arrived at Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind and were met by Steve Doucette,
who I had been communicating with since we started planning the CraigGivesBack tour nearly
three years ago. It was great to finally meet him and we were also joined by one of the founders
of the school, Jane Thornton. As I mentioned, Canada did not have a guide dog school until
1984 and before that time anyone requiring a guide dog would have to obtain one from the
United States. Also amazing is that this school operates solely on the donations from individuals,
service clubs and fundraising events such as ours. They have never received government
funding and had preferred to keep it that way as a change in government or the economy can
affect availability of grants which can seriously impact the financial health of a small school such
as this. Although the annual donations they do receive can fluctuate from year to year, it is
reliable and one of their best forms of fundraising are the guide dog piggy bank statues you see
in your local grocery store or elsewhere.
The facility itself is modern and well laid out as it should be with clients that are visually
impaired. The main building has a shared kitchen and eating area, but also individual rooms for
the clients. When a client is matched with a dog, they must first stay at the school to not only
bond with the dog, but also to train along with the dog. The dog must learn to care for their
new owner and the owner must learn to properly care for their new dog. As soon as the client is
matched with a dog they are together twenty-four hours a day and the dog stays in the clients
room through the night. Days are spent training with and learning to care for the dog and
eventually clients are taken with their dog to areas of Ottawa to train on actual streets. Steve
said that one of the unique things of the Ottawa area is they are able to find a neighborhood to

match the clients home neighborhood somewhere inside or on the outskirts of the city. They
attempt to make the training as true to normal daily life as possible.
The cost to the client for a guide dog is $1.00, and that is only to create a contract as the client
is not actually purchasing the dog. They are paying for the service and the dog remains the
property of the school which is important to ensure the well being of the animal. Should a client
fail to provide proper care or if the dog should outlive the client, then the dog would return to the
school. There are a few dog breeds that can be used for guide dogs, but this school prefers
Labrador Retrievers due to their reliable good nature, loyalty and intelligence.
After the tour we were all invited into the kitchen for lunch and we just sat down when there was
a very tall man with a young girl knocking at the sliding glass door that lead out to the front
lawn. They had listened to our interview on CBC radio this morning, on which we had mentioned
we would be touring the guide dog school this morning and so he and his daughter had come out
to meet us. He was also originally from Holland so an avid cyclist and very interested in our
back-to-back tandem recumbent that was imported from his home country. Unfortunately for
him and his daughter we did not have Janus with us, but Jennie invited him back to her house
later that evening as they were having a reception and fundraiser so friends and neighbors could
meet us before we left the next morning. We thanked Steve and Jane for the tour of the school,
and we now had to quickly get back to Ottawa to not only pickup Janus, but get back to Jennies
house with Janus before everyone arrived for the reception.
Everyone got dropped off at Jennies house except Jennie, Bob and I and we headed off to the
bike shop. When we arrived at the bike shop, we promised Jennie we would be back to her
house in time for the reception as she was expecting people to start arriving around 4:00pm.
Jennie had to head home to setup and we had to check on Janus and make sure it was going to
last for 5,400kms.
The owner Kent of Phat Moose Cycles had done most of the work himself and Janus looked
great. The remains of the broken bike stand had been removed, new and improved brake pads
front and rear and new chains had been installed. He suggested we take it for a test drive
around the block before we settled the bill, so we did just that and five minutes later Janus was
back in the bike shop for more work!
I know from experience that bike chains last not much more than 3,000kms before they stretch
and wear, and as they wear they also wear the sprocket on the wheel. When you put on a new
chain it no longer meshes perfectly with the teeth of the worn sprocket and in extreme cases the
new chain simply slips over top of the chainring teeth. When you pedal the bike stays put even if
you pedal like a mad man. That is what happened almost immediately with the sprocket on the
front wheel, the one I had been pedaling for 2,800kms. The good news is the sprocket on the
Rohloff internal hub was reversible, so it has a second life. The bad news it is took a special tool
to remove it so it could be flipped around and the bike shop did not have this tool. The good
news is Kent was committed to ensuring we were able to leave Ottawa on schedule tomorrow
morning, so he manufactured the tool and fixed the sprocket while we waited. The bad news is
a local customer stopped by the bike shop who considered himself an authority on everything,
especially anything involving bicycles. Bob and I were waiting for Kent to finish on our bike so
we were a captive audience, however it did pass the time even if it felt like an eternity before
Kent brought out Janus and we were able to head out for test drive number two.
At first everything was fine and we quickly pedaled down the street, but I suspected if there was
an issue with my sprocket then there could very likely be the same issue with Bobs sprocket. I
held on the brakes to slow us down and had Bob pedal as hard as he could and yes, his chain
skipped over the teeth of the sprocket so back to the bike shop we had to go. We headed back,

but this time the repair was done quickly and Kent even gave us the tool he manufactured in
case we ever needed it again. We paid our bill, thanked Kent and the staff at Phat Moose Cycles
and raced off to Jennies house as we were now behind schedule. Jennie was texting Bob to find
out when we expected to arrive as guests were starting to arrive.
We rolled into the driveway just in time as a small crowd had begun to gather. It was a beautiful
evening and Jennie, Tim, Vanessa and Andrew and his girlfriend Rachael had been hard at work
setting up tables with food and were also taking donations that would go to Canadian Guide
Dogs for the Blind. Bob and I did our usual speeches explaining why we were doing this and
sharing stories from our trip. We also had a surprise visit again from the tall man who had
driven out to the Guide Dogs School with his daughter to meet us earlier today. He had really
wanted to see the bike and now he not only got to see it, but was able to give it a close
inspection as we explained all the technical aspects. Later we would be told that he had also
made a very generous donation to the Guide Dogs. We definitely enjoyed meeting him and
greatly appreciated his interest and support.
So with the reception winding down, Bob and I had to make preparations for an early start in the
morning. Bob was leaving behind items for Jennie to mail back home to his wife Laureen. He
had extra clothes that he now knew he would never wear and so I added to the pile of items. I
emptied all the receipts I had collected to date and I also added my portable TENS unit as
miraculously through repeated treatments and ice from Pictou to Ottawa, my right Achilles
tendon now felt nearly healed. No need for any extra weight if it had little chance of being used,
so the TENS unit was headed home. Secretly Bob also left his can of shaving cream behind,
but never shared that with me so I would continue to tease him and threaten to leave it at our
next stop!
We were now well rested and sad that we would be leaving Jennie and her family behind where
we had been pampered for the past two days, but we had a tour to finish and had to head out
early in the morning so we could stay on our tight schedule.

10

DAY #29 Sunday, September 1, 2013 Bob yes, Craig no.

Day#29: 130kms Ottawa, ON to Sharbot Lake, ON

So while Bob and I had toiled on Janus day after day as we moved further and further west,
Craig was back in Pictou training and healing, healing and training and getting ready to rejoin the
tour and allow Bob to return back to his job at H&R Block. When Craig had fallen and injured his
wrist, it was too swollen to take an x-ray to determine if it was a torn ligament or a bone
fracture. He would have a cast on for two weeks and once it was removed if it was a muscle
injury he might be able to rejoin the tour, but if it was a fracture his wrist would be in another
cast for four more weeks. We had been hoping that he would be able to rejoin in Ottawa, but
things do not always work out like you plan and when it was determined it was indeed a bone
fracture that meant he would now not be able to rejoin the tour until Calgary at the earliest.
I had also been texting Craig updates of our progress almost daily and he was keeping busy
doing media interviews, promoting CraigGivesBack and passing along my updates. He was doing
everything he could and we really were a team of three now. Bob was not planning on leaving
me alone, so looks like we would be together now until at least Calgary.
It was now Sunday and time to leave Ottawa. Thankfully we had chosen a much more relaxed
exit from the city than the chaotic trip into the city two days prior. We had fully enjoyed our stay
in Ottawa and so happy we were able to share our visit to Canadian Guide Dogs with Jennie and
her family, but now it was time to continue west.
We exited the city on paved bicycle paths and then on streets in the marked bike lanes until we
turned onto a trail that had once been a railway as so many trails had once been. The trail was

11

in excellent condition and as it was a Sunday morning, it was quite busy with walkers, runners
and other cyclists. We would stay on this trail for over 30kms until we arrived at Carleton Place.
A year after our cross Canada trip, I would read an article that a woman cyclist was attacked on
this same trail by not a dog, but by a Canada Goose as she had ridden too close and the goose
felt she was a threat and reacted. She would be fine, but did suffer some bruises and lacerations
when she was knocked from her bike. They are large birds so must have been a scary situation
to have a large goose hissing and snapping while flapping its large wings around her head.
We did not have any issues with any wildlife, however it appears we may have trust issues since
I dumped Bob into the chain-link fence in Montreal. Today at one particular road crossing the
trail had a gate made of chain link fence and it was quite a tight fit to get our ten foot long Janus
through, and when travelling at very low speeds Janus becomes somewhat unstable. Bob felt
Janus tilt towards the fence and immediately unclipped his feet and put them on the ground just
in case, but I told him I meant to do that and I was leaning the bike as we took the corner! It
was a good test to make sure he was paying attention and not getting too complacent with
looking after safety on his end of the bicycle too!
Arriving at Carleton Place we came to the end of the trail so checked Google Maps to see what
route was recommended. We still had almost 100kms to cover before we would reach our
destination, Sharbot Lake Provincial Park. Google Maps took us into a residential area off the
main route and then indicated a bike path that would connect us to a municipal road. Well the
bike path started ok, but soon became a narrow and muddy single track. Previous experience
had taught us how little traction our tire have in mud so I was forced to keep my feet down
ready to steady Janus and left Bob to pedal on his own. There were some very challenging
sections of the trail which was more suited to teenager on a full suspension mountain bike than
two middle aged men on a fully loaded tandem recumbent, but fortunately the path was less
than a kilometer in length and we were soon safely back on pavement and travelling at a good
pace.
Next Google Maps took us down to a private road, but indicated we could pass and would
eventually connect back with the route that we would be on for the balance of the day when we
would reach our destination. The private road surprisingly came to an end, and where Google
Maps showed a connecting route it went through someones driveway and property. I could
actually see the road we needed to get to as it was no more than 500metres past the property
we had stopped at. I dismounted leaving Bob on his own while I walked up the driveway to
inquire if the residents could give me some route advice. I hoped we would not have to
backtrack. Well I had hardly gotten up the driveway when a lady came out from the backyard to
announce that this was private property and I was trespassing. She was not open to discussion
and her only goal was that I was shooed off her property and out of her driveway. I got the
distinct impression that I was not the first cyclist that Google Maps had taken on this detour and
she was at her limit with spandex clad trespassers. Cant say I blame her. Bob and I
backtracked nearly 5kms, but we were soon back on our intended route and this time passed by
the same property, but on the other side as we headed south west.
Recumbent bikes are popular in countries such as Holland and Denmark for good reason. The
countries are flat. Well there would be challenging rides with steep climbs ahead, but today we
had a breeze on our back and the road was very gently rolling which was perfect as we could
gain good speed and maintain it with minimal effort. By the time we had arrived at our
destination we had averaged our fastest speed for a day so far at well over 25kms/hr.
We did not go directly into the campground, but stopped just before at a small take-out
restaurant-convenience store and had some excellent poutine! If being able to eat a steady diet
of poutine is not enough reason to bike every day, then I dont know what is!

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We headed off to the campground and our campsite. This was the last time we stayed at a
campground when it was busy with other campers. For most it was the end of August and the
end of the camping season, and the kids were heading back to school. For all campgrounds after
this it would be just Bob, myself and the wildlife.
DAY #30 Monday, September 2, 2013 Tornado, really?

Day#30: 121kms Sharbot Lake, ON to Campbellford, ON

Today was relatively straight forward, bike just over 120kms from Sharbot Lake Provincial Park to
Ferris Provincial Park. We start early with a couple granola bars, shower, pack up the camp and
we are on the road early and hoping not have to go too far before we find some place to eat
something a bit more substantial.
We travelled almost two hours before we finally arrived at a service station with a Subway, so we
were fairly famished by the time we arrived. We ate quickly and were back on the road with
minimal delay, but this time we needed to find a grocery store to restock our supply of granola
bars and jujubes. When I saw the sign for Madoc, it looked like it just might be a large enough
town that it would have such a service, so we took a detour from our route and it was not long
and we were fully restocked and each enjoying an ice cream sandwich in the parking lot.
The sky had been gradually darkening all day since we had first left Sharbot Lake and finally the
skies opened and we stopped and on the side of the road to put on our rain gear. It is
something you put off until you absolutely have to as you still get soaked under the rain gear,

13

but from your sweat which is trapped inside with you. The only good thing is you stay warm,
wet, but warm.
The rain was intense, then we could hear thunder rolling towards us and the wind had picked up.
Bob then received a text from Laureen that there were tornado warnings for Peterborough
County today. Hmmm, thats where we were!
We survived the lightning and tornado warning and would need to turn off the highway we had
travelled all day and travel a little out of the way. Campgrounds are not always conveniently
located based on the route you have chosen to bicycle, so sometimes you have to travel a little
further. We biked through the town of Campbellford and a few kilometers on the other side was
Ferris Provincial Park.
It was now September and with camping season winding down, campgrounds were reducing
services. We arrived at the campground and to our surprise a vehicle had followed us in and
pulled up beside us. The driver was a reporter for the local newspaper and asked if we could do
an interview. We were happy to of course, but good thing it was not a long interview as we had
not realized the campground office was closing at 5:00pm and it was well after 4:00pm when we
arrived in the parking lot.
The campground was mostly deserted except for a handful of determined campers. The gravel
road up to the campsite was long and in rough condition, so much so that one of my water
bottles fell out of the holder from under my seat. I had no idea it had fallen due to the noise of
the bike bouncing over the rough road, and I would have to walk back down the road later once
I had realized I had lost it.
At our campsite we found a clothesline that the previous campers had left behind and we hung
our damp clothing out hoping it would dry. It was not a warm evening, but there was a good
breeze blowing so even if they did not completely dry, they would be drier than they were when
we hung them.
So here we were on a Monday evening, hungry with a steep rough gravel road to get to and
from our campsite, and another five kilometers to reach the small town of Campbellford, and
then no guarantee what was open. We could not even get advice from staff at the entrance of
the campground as they gone and would not be back until the next morning. We considered the
option of biking to town, but decided to fill up on granola bars and get an early start in the
morning. We would stop and get a good breakfast in town before we set out for the day.
One thing of concern was the level of security with the steel garbage containers with locking lids
to keep bears from accessing the contents. One other favour my sister Jennie did for us was she
purchased a can of bear spray from a local outdoor shop in Ottawa. I knew we would not need it
before Ontario, but now I was glad I had it. Thats right I had it, not Bob! As I had explained
to Bob the day Jennie gave it to us, it was not for the bear it was to use on Bob! I just needed
to stop Bob from running away so that I could! We took good care to ensure all empty granola
wrappers were picked up off the picnic table and from our tents and placed inside the secure
garbage receptacle!
We even took the extra step of taking the bag in which we kept all our food on the bike and hid
it inside the camp building containing showers and washrooms. I did not want a bear to come
sniffing around my tent and cannot imagine Bob would welcome that visit either! Regardless,
bear visit or not we were both so tired we were asleep quickly.

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DAY #31 Tuesday, September 3, 2013 More tandem bicycles!

Day#31: 134kms Campbellford, ON to Bowmanville, ON

We wasted no time getting ready in the morning and were on our way even before the morning
shift had arrived at the campground office. We made our way back to Campbellford and stopped
at the Tim Hortons for food and coffee and by this time we were pretty hungry. While there we
attracted attention with our strange bicycle which we had leaned outside the front windows, and
soon had a small fan club inside the restaurant. There was a table of older men and women
seated at a table near ours and they had many questions and also jokes about the odd
orientation of the two riders. Before we had left they had taken up a collection at their table and
donated it all towards our next meal. That was the good news, but the bad news is we would
not have another real meal until almost twelve hours from now.
We were looking forward to today, not only were we about to ride an abandoned railway line
that had been converted to a trail, but we were also to meet up with other tandem bicycles in
Peterborough and then travel together to a reception at the Home Hardware. We had less than
a kilometer to go from the Tim Hortons and then we would turn onto the start of the trail which
would take us most of the nearly 60km distance to Peterborough.
Every trail is unique in some way and this one had a multiple personality disorder as we would
unfortunately soon learn. It started off nice enough as we left the residential area and looked
fairly well travelled and then it deteriorated from there to a deeply rutted, rocky and overgrown
path more suited to a motocross bike than what we were riding. We were soon soaked from the
branches that rubbed and slapped against us and then to our surprise in the middle of the trail
were cows, yes cows! The trail actually ran through the middle of a fenced field of cattle, except
rather than a gate there was a Texas Cattle Guard which is simply multiple rows of pipes with

15

spaces between them lying over a ditch. Hoofed animals would not cross them and Bob and I
did not like them too much either, but tractors could travel back and forth easily. The herd
reluctantly parted to let us pass through and we crossed the other Texas Cattle Guard on the
opposite side of the field.
Every time the trail crossed a road, we were tempted to divert our route to a surface more
suitable to the vehicle we were riding, but we persevered as the cyclist who had suggested the
route to us, had planned on cycling out towards us so we could ride back to Peterborough
together. We would soon arrive at the town of Hastings and cross over the river and rejoin the
trail on the other side. When we did rejoin the trail it was like the country mouse had just met
the city mouse as the condition of the trail was completely the opposite of what we had just
ridden through. The next portion of the trail would be a much faster ride and before we know it
we met a friendly face sitting on a bicycle waiting for us near Peterborough. Now we had a
guide and our only job was to follow him! First stop was on the outskirts of Peterborough and
we met up with three tandem bicycles, each with a guide and sight impaired co-pilot. We were
thrilled to meet them and have the opportunity to ride through the streets of Peterborough with
them.
One of the great things about having the Home Hardware stores help with receptions and
fundraisers along the way is each store is owned by a franchisee that lives in the area. They
have a great passion and really make every effort to make this a success and this Home
Hardware was no exception with a barbeque, media for interviews, representatives from CNIB
and the YMCA and also even the mayor was there. Unfortunately it had started to rain just as
we arrived, but it did not dampen anyones spirit and we posed for pictures with our fellow riders
and it was Bob not me who was surrounded by the reporters. I finally had a chance to eat
something at a reception!
We still had over 70kms to go to reach Bowmanville and Google Maps was giving us three route
options. Although Bob and I were not so trusting of our new friend in picking out trails to bicycle
on, he was the best we had and an experienced road cyclist so we did ask for his suggestion.
We were very thankful for a great time in Peterborough, but it was time to say goodbye and
head west again.
We were actually travelling south-west as we were heading a little out of the way to go down to
Toronto rather than simply cross from Ottawa almost due west to North Bay. We started out on
the heavily travelled highway, but would soon turn off and follow a series of country roads.
Luckily the roads were all paved and also had very little traffic, but we were always wary to keep
an eye out for any farm dogs that might be loose and not particularly fond of bicycles.
The terrain between Peterborough and Bowmanville covers some fairly rolling countryside and if
todays distance was not enough, we had covered some pretty decent climbs so we were starting
to get tired. When we turned left onto a nice flat country road, we did so with a sigh of relief.
We were now moving again at a decent pace and enjoying the country scenery when we passed
a long straight driveway on our left that was lined on both sides with mature shade trees. It was
an impressive entrance and with such a long driveway we did not even worry when we heard a
dog bark as it came from far away near the house. The dog barking had continued even though
we were well past the driveway entrance, but imagine my surprise when in my mirror I caught
the image a large dog suddenly come out of the driveway and round the corner onto the road at
a full gallop. Bob and I picked up the pace and on this flat and now starting to slope down
slightly road we would normally leave the large animal panting behind us, but not this dog. This
dog was actually gaining on us and when I say us I mean Bob, as he is at the wrong end of the
bike with the dog! Again Bob was forced to use his water bottle to spray the dog in the face to

16

fend it off and thankfully it worked again! Even though the dog stopped and turned back we did
not slow down as the adrenaline had us highly motivated to leave the area as quickly as possible!
By the time we reached Bowmanville it was early evening and we were tired and starving so we
stopped at the Fifth Wheel Tuck Stop Restaurant and Motel to eat and hang out with the truck
drivers. The restaurant had an all-you-can-eat buffet and it turned out to be the best food value
of our entire trip! Now we were stuffed and we did not feel much like biking the extra kilometers
to the campground where we had originally planned to spend this night. We had a big day
tomorrow with receptions in both Oshawa and Toronto, so staying here would allow us an earlier
start and we would have breakfast before we left so we would not have to stop along the way
saving even more time. I never have to convince Bob that sleeping in a bed is better than
sleeping on the ground, so we booked our room and although we were not able to bring Janus
inside we locked it up outside where they suggested. We figured if someone did take it we
would just have to take the bus the rest of the way across Canada!
DAY #32 Wednesday, September 4, 2013 Even more tandem bicycles!

Day#32: 99kms Bowmanville, ON to Toronto, ON

We were up early and eating breakfast when the sun was rising in the east. It was going to be a
beautiful day and we had a lot of ground to cover including getting into the city of Toronto. We
had not one, but two receptions today! One at the Home Hardware in Oshawa not more than
15kms from our current location, but then off to the CNIB office in Toronto for 3:00pm and we
had better not be late for that one as there was at least one television crew waiting.
From Bowmanville to Oshawa there is a waterfront trail and although more winding than direct, it
was a beautiful route. It is a beautiful paved path with cyclists, runners and walkers and we
followed along Lake Ontario until we turned north and followed along a stream through the

17

Oshawa Valleylands Conservation Area. We arrived at the Oshawa Home Hardware and were to
receive a nice surprise as soon as we pulled into the parking lot.
Early on day three of our trip back in Newfoundland we had stopped in Terra Nova National Park
to pickup our gear that Bob and Laureen had dropped off at the campsite we never made it to.
When we were in the parking lot loading all our gear onto Janus, an RV pulled up beside us and
a family emerged and began to ask us about our bicycle and our trip. Before they had left they
promised to follow our journey on Facebook and they would look for us in Oshawa. True to their
word here they were in the parking lot of the Home Hardware and it was so good to see them!
We had our pictures taken together with their young son and daughter, we did a newspaper
interview and then we were on our way again. We should have plenty of time to get to our
destination in Toronto, but things do not always go as planned and I do hate to be late.
Our friend Warren Spires with the CNIB office in Halifax was very concerned we make it to this
reception on time! It was the CNIB national office and there would be television crews waiting
for our arrival. He was so concerned that he asked if he could work out our route into the city,
which of course I had no problem with as I love it when someone else is our guide. Regardless,
we would use Google Maps on my iPhone to help assist navigate and I hoped the battery would
last long enough. It only had to last until we reached the CNIB office at 3:00pm as after that we
would have an escort to my sister Andreas house were we would be staying the night.
We headed from the Home Hardware back down to the waterfront trail, which offered a safer if
not faster route. The challenge with paved multi use trails are that they are rarely straight, but
wind back and forth and some turns can be sharp which reduces the safe speed at which you can
travel. Also you must be wary of other users and travel at a speed to ensure safety of all. The
other challenge with this trail is it was not continuous, so we would have to change direction to
head north and travel away from the waterfront and then take a street that ran west and then at
the next opportunity turn and head back down to the waterfront and rejoin the start of the trail.
It was a bit of a pain as it was just not possible to get into a rhythm as we were so often starting
and stopping, and I had to keep turning on Google Maps to ensure we did not miss our turn and
this was quickly depleting the battery.
We eventually made our way to the Nuclear Generating Plants in Pickering and the trail was
congested with plant employees out for their lunch break. Our rate of speed was now greatly
reduced and my stress level was starting to climb as we had consumed almost the entire reserve
time I had built in to get to the CNIB office. We stopped at a day park and quickly ate a couple
granola bars and used the facilities and then were on our way. This would be our last and only
stop before we arrived at the CNIB office.
We continued to follow the paved trail, and the route was very scenic along Lake Ontario and
then it turned right and would head up through the Highland Creek River Valley and then we
headed north, and then we headed west and then we headed south. We needed to get back on
schedule as we were now running behind so when the trail returned to Lawrence Avenue, I
decided to stay on this very busy and not so bike friendly route as at least it was taking us
straight towards our destination. There were three lanes of traffic going in each direction,
however the right lane was restricted to buses only so it left it open for us most of the time until
we started playing leapfrog with a bus. The bus would pass us and then stop to pick up
passengers and we would then have to pass the bus by moving over into the busy lane of traffic.
Then the bus would leave the stop, catch up with us and pass us and then stop ahead of us.
This would go on for a few kilometers until we finally and thankfully reached the point where we
had to turn left and head south to our destination.

18

We had made up some time, but still we were running behind schedule so my stress level
remained high. When Google Maps told us to turn onto another paved trail which would take us
down into a valley, I was reluctant, however I followed direction. Again it was scenic, but slow
going with tight corners and many other trail users to navigate past. We had lost more time and
when we did eventually come to our exit from the trail we had to dismount to push Janus up the
steep climb out of the valley. We were back on the bike, the battery of my iPhone was almost
exhausted and then Bob got a text from Amelia wondering where we were and how long before
we would arrive as television crews were now onsite and a crowd was gathered for our reception.
I actually was not sure how close we were and was worried we were still at least thirty minutes
away, but when I saw a street sign and Bob explained our current location to Amelia, she was
quite relieved as we were literally just around the corner and would be there and not more than
fifteen to twenty minutes behind schedule. Not too bad for being on a bicycle. We knew we
were close when we turned right and a television cameraman was standing on the sidewalk to
our right and then we soon arrived to cheers and clapping we drove into the front parking lot of
the office tower!
It was the largest crowd we had seen yet and both Bob and I had relatives waiting for us. Bob
had his relatives who had come all the way from St. Catherines and my sister Andrea had biked
there and would bike with us back to her house. It was also great to finally meet face to face
with Diana Deakin-Thomas from YMCA Canada who I had worked with for almost two years to
plan the trip through emails.
There was a microphone with backdrop and camera crews were setup in front. First the National
Directors for the CNIB and YMCA Canada would speak and then myself and finally Bob would
wrap things up. We finished with one on one interviews with the media and then it was time to
hit the road, but again of course the television crew wanted us to do a couple laps of the parking
lot so they could get more footage of Janus in motion.
We were also lucky as we would now have a bicycle escort the remainder of the distance today
as two tandem bikes from the Trailblazers were here to bike with us and had already worked out
the route. I love it when I do not have to navigate other than to follow the bicycle in front of
me. The Trailblazers is an organization with a focus getting anyone with a seeing disability out
on a tandem bicycle, same as we had seen in Montreal and Peterborough. They were a large
organization with over thirty bikes and we were lucky to have two of them here with us today,
both with a pilot and sight impaired co-pilot. We also had my sister Andrea along for the ride
and it turned out to be a good thing we did as she knew a couple of shortcuts near the
neighborhood of her house which got us there safe and quickly.
When we arrived at Andreas house her dog Jake and her better half, Daves dog Luke were
excited to have visitors and joined us on the deck. In fact Jake who is a very, very large dog was
so excited to see us he jumped up to lick me as I had bent over to pat him and accidentally
drove his teeth into my forehead right between my eyes. Andrea had already made preparations
for our visit so we all including our entire bicycle escort enjoyed slices of oranges along with
lemonade while blood slowly trickled down the front of my face. It was a beautiful warm evening
and what greater way to finish than with a cold lemonade under the shade of a massive oak tree.
We chatted on the front deck enjoying each others company while at the same time I marveled
at the fact we were now a full month into the trip and had covered over 3,600kms.
Bob and I had not much more time than to unpack the bike and shower as we were being
treated at a local Polish restaurant, a favourite of Andreas and Dave. They live near High Park
and close to Roncesvalle Avenue which is the shopping and eating location for the local area. It
is an older area of Toronto with large brick homes and mature trees towering overhead. It is a

19

quiet, beautiful area of the city and boasts a healthy Polish population. There were a few
restaurants to choose from, but this one was one of the best. It was like a family restaurant
serving favourite Polish traditional recipes and I looked forward to my large plate of goulash!
We shared the evening with Bobs relatives from St. Catherines who had also met us at the CNIB
office earlier in the day. They would have to leave shortly after the meal as they had a long and
complicated journey back on buses, subway and trains. It was not a small effort for them to get
to Toronto to meet us and we definitely appreciated them being there. Bobs brother was also
there and like Bob he has Retinitis Pigmentosa, however his had started and progressed much
more rapidly than Bobs so he was now completely blind and walked with either a cane or a
guide. Retinitis Pigmentosa just like red-green colour blindness that I have are both carried by
the female members of the family. In order for a female to contract the disease they would need
to receive an X chromosome from both their mother and father and this was very rare, so far
fewer females compared to males have the condition. For a male they only need receive one
chromosome as there was no matching gene on the Y chromosome, so by default they would
have the disease if it was on their X chromosome. So here we had Bob who was legally blind
due to the progression of Retinitis Pigmentosa and me who was discovered to be red-green
colourblind when I was eight years old. I joked that the CraigGivesBack tour was the colourblind
leading the blind!
The big surprise of the evening was the arrival of my niece Kristin and her husband Stephen!
Kristin had created our Facebook page back in January and was still looking after it, posting
regular updates from pictures Bob and I would send her, but also posting upcoming events or
receptions that Amelia from the CNIB would forward to her. It was wonderful that they had
made the trip from Kitchener-Waterloo to spend the evening with us and she was excited that
our Facebook page had reached the milestone of 1,000 followers! We were amazed how many
people were now following us and viewing and liking our posts and pictures!
The meal was great, but Bob and I were very tired so although we did enjoy spending as much
time as possible with our relatives, it was time for us to get back to Andreas and Daves and get
some much needed sleep as we would be leaving Toronto early in the morning.

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DAY #33 Thursday, September 5, 2013 You want how much?

Day#33: 102kms Toronto, ON to New Tecumseth, ON

We awoke before everyone else and showered and came downstairs to the wonderful smell of
freshly brewed coffee and bacon frying on the stove as Andrea catered to the soon to be
departing cyclists. She was planning on cycling out with us and knew of a paved bike trail that
would ultimately take us out and clear of the city limits as we headed north to the town of
Alliston today.
Before we leave Dave joins us in the kitchen and lets us know that he is optimistic he will have a
break in his employment and if it works out he would be able to join us as our support vehicle for
about a week as we make our way through northern Ontario. We were excited at the prospect
as Janus is so much more fun to ride when light and fast and also we enjoy Daves company and
he would bring his dog Luke along for company. Dave is a film editor and works from contract to
contract and when he works he works very long hours to meet the production timelines of the
film producer, and so he likes to have time off between contracts to pursue all the things he
cannot do when he works. We felt very honoured that he would choose to spend this very
valuable time with us and we hoped we would be seeing him again soon.
With Andrea leading I was again happy to follow another cyclist and not worry about finding our
route. We made our way out to the region of Toronto where the Humber Valley Trail began.
Andrea memory had gotten us close to the start, but as we pedaled through a residential area

21

looking for any signs we would need the assistance of a couple of walkers to find the exact
location of the trail head. The trail was again beautiful as it wove its way through the valley and
we had followed it for a few kilometers before we had to divert onto a local street for a short
distance and then we rejoined the trail. It was here that Andrea decided she better head back
home as it was mid morning and would take her almost until noon to get back to her house. We
thanked her for everything and she photographed us as we did our Beatles impression walking
Janus across the street on a cross walk.
We were now on our own again and we were headed north to Earl Rowe Provincial Park in
Alliston. Total distance today was just over 100kms so there no great urgency to rush along and
when the Humber Valley Trail eventually ended we pedaled along on secondary roads through
the countryside. The wonderful thing is also how level the land was at least until we got close to
Alliston and the road we were on changed from pavement to gravel and the terrain became more
rolling so it was up and down until the gravel finally ended and we were back on pavement. We
definitely preferred paved over gravel and were happy not be bouncing over rocks any longer.
We passed the entrance to the provincial park and decided to travel into Alliston first and stop
and get supper before we retired for the day. We had a good fill of pasta and we asked the
waitress if we should stay at the provincial park or if we should continue since it was still early
evening. We could find another campground closer to Barrie which would help us tomorrow as
we had well over 100kms to cover and two receptions to make it to, one in Barrie and the second
in Orillia. She said there was a nice campground just a few kilometers further, so we decided to
take her advice and push on.
Now after this trip there are a few statements I no longer put a lot of faith in, Just a few
kilometers, youre almost there and its all downhill from here never pan out as promised.
The few kilometers was actually well over twenty kilometers with a few big rolling hills just to add
to the challenge. By the time we arrived at the campground it was dusk and the temperature
was dropping quickly. There was definitely going to be a frost tonight! We entered the camp
office and I asked young lady at the counter if I could pay for a campsite for the night and of
course this being September and a weekday there were plenty of sites availability. She asked me
how many tents and I informed her two tents and I was told I would have to pay for two
campsites. I quickly let her know that each tent was not much larger than a sleeping bag as
they fit only one person and we would only require the one campsite. She let me know it is
company policy at this campground that there is a maximum of one tent per site. I was
dumbfounded and stared at her incredulously for a moment then said no thank you.
I am sure Bob was relieved as it was going to be a cold night and he was not a fan of sleeping
outside when a warm indoor option may exist somewhere else. Back in Lyons Brook Bob and
Laureen heat their house with firewood and a wood stove and Bob likes it so warm inside the
house that he can walk around in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, so you can understand when he
is quietly rejoicing inside each time I opted not to stay at a campground with just our own body
heat to keep us warm.
On the way to the campground we had passed a motel right beside the highway and we headed
back. It was not even close to capacity and we were able to get the room at a cost almost equal
to the cost of the two campsites, but the big difference was we had indoor heating, a private
bath and cable television! We turned on the television and checked the weather channel and
laughed at our good fortune as it was going down well below zero Celsius tonight!

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DAY #34 Friday, September 6, 2013 Bob the chicken whisperer.

Day#34: 117kms New Tecumseth, ON to Gravenhurst, ON

Today was an exciting day for me and it had nothing to do with the CraigGivesBack tour. My
wife and good friend Ed Hawkins would be flying into Toronto and then renting a vehicle for the
drive north to Huntsville where on Sunday they would both be participating in the Subaru Half
Ironman. They would also be bringing packages from home which included warmer cycling
clothing which we now needed as the nights and days were getting cooler.
Staying in a motel had the advantage of allowing us to get up early and have a shower and be
ready to hit the road early. Such was the case this morning and we were well ahead of schedule
as we neared Barrie, so we stopped at Debbs Place which turned out to be a great decision. It
was a local restaurant that not only served us a wonderful breakfast of French toast and
pancakes, but even gave us the meal for half the normal price and wanted to get a picture of us
on the bike before we left. Again we had people from other tables in the restaurant stop to talk
to us about our trip and our bicycle and we made sure to give each of them a CragGivesBack
business card.

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When we arrived at the Home Hardware in Barrie they were still setting up as we were early.
They were setting up for a barbeque fundraiser and also had arranged for the media to be there
and Bob and I were interviewed on a television camera. A representative from the CNIB arrived
as well. Customers were supporting the barbeque purchasing food and drinks, not that they had
much choice as the gentleman doing the cooking was a wonderful salesman and you were hard
pressed getting by him without a purchase or a donation or both.
Lucky for us one of the Trailblazers who had ridden in Toronto with us yesterday had to visit the
Barrie area today on business, so decided to bring his bike along and spend a few hours with us
between Barrie and Orillia. We were more than happy to have him along as he was one of the
founding members of the Trailblazers so we had lots of questions, but also he knew the route as
he had travelled it before! From the Home Hardware we travelled along the waterfront in Barrie
following our escort and soon we were on another abandoned train line that would take us
straight to Orillia and almost directly to the Home Hardware which was our next stop.
It was a beautiful day so the trail was busy with walkers, runners and cyclists. I was excited
when another recumbent passed us travelling in the opposite direction and we smiled and waved
at each other. His recumbent was actually a trike with two wheels in the front and one in the
rear. I had seen them before and had even considered purchasing one a few years ago, but the
drawback is they are very low to the ground and have a wheel base over 30 inches wide. This
makes them hard to be seen by motor vehicles, but more importantly it was too difficult to get in
and out of a doorway so I gave up on the notion.
The trail was in near perfect condition and we were pushing each other. As it was a train line the
slope never exceeded 2%, however you could feel it on the gravel surface when you were going
up and when you were going down. On the uphill our escort would begin to pull away and on
the downhill we would pass him. We stopped for lunch and were visited by some very free range
chickens which Bob befriended. I know Bob loves cats and dogs and he and Laureen seem to
always have at least two of each, but I never knew he could talk to chickens. Well he clucked
and garbled and had a couple brave members of the flock were soon eating granola bits from his
hand. Who knew?
We only had a short distance remaining and we lost our escort on the outskirts of Orillia as he
still had to get back to his vehicle in Barrie. We soon parked at the front of the Home Hardware
and almost the entire staff came out to welcome us. This was not technically a reception, but
the owner wanted to make a donation to our charities and since it was on our way we had no
problem stopping so they could get a picture with us for the local paper. They even put together
a care basket full of fruit and granola bars. We were unable to take the basket, but happy to
have the contents.
It was now after 3:00pm and we were supposed to camp at Mara Provincial Park, however it was
a beautiful day and we felt it was a good opportunity to make some extra distance so tomorrow
would not be such a long day as we would be meeting up with Andrea and Ed in Huntsville. We
would like to get there sooner rather than later tomorrow so he have more time to spend with
them.
We headed north on Route 11 and it turned out to be a 50km trip of constant near-death
experiences as we played chicken with the rush of cottagers leaving Toronto and headed north
for the weekend. Route 11 is a divided highway with two lanes of traffic headed each way at
100+kms/hr. It is a main thoroughfare from Toronto up to cottage country. There is virtually no
paved shoulder so we were in the car lane. I kept Bob busy on the back waving over cars to give
us room and warning me when transport trucks were unable to give us clearance and we would

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have to bail over onto the gravel shoulder. One thing about rides like these is you do not have to
worry about falling asleep at the wheel!
When you are scared you pedal faster than normal and we had covered the distance to
Gravenhurst in just over two hours, so we left the highway and went into town to find something
to eat. We found an awesome place to eat, but almost did not have time to stay and eat our
meal. Rombos Restaurant & Pizza was right on the main street and it looked busy. If it is busy it
must be good so we stopped and found a table. Waitress was by without delay to take order
and brought us a couple Pepsi drinks not too long after that and then she never visited us again.
Then we realized everyone else in the restaurant was also waiting for their order. The restaurant
was full, kids were hungry and crying and no food was forthcoming. I believe the issue was it
was Friday evening and the kitchen was trying to look after both the take out and eat in business
and although pizzas were leaving to be delivered no one was eating in the restaurant. It finally
came to the point I walked up to the cash and told our waitress we had to leave. We were going
to stay at the KOA Campground 8kms outside of Gravenhurst and if we did not leave before dark
then we would likely get run over by a motor vehicle. She must have understood our
predicament and had some empathy for us as she told me to have a seat and our meal would be
there momentarily and she disappeared back into the kitchen. When she reappeared she was
holding two large plates of spaghetti and she set them down in front of us. It was one of the
best plates of spaghetti I have ever had. It was not smothered in sauce and the vegetables were
cooked perfectly. I was glad we gave Rombos the extra five minutes! I recommend the
restaurant, but do not be in a rush if you go there on a Friday evening.
When we exited the restaurant and began to ready ourselves to finish riding the final 8kms of the
day, a gentleman and his family who had followed us out came over to ask us questions about
the bike and our trip. When they found out we were from Nova Scotia they wanted to know how
we knew to come to Rombos Restaurant as it is well known as one of the better Italian
restaurants in the area. I said it looked busy so we took a chance and got lucky. When we told
them we were off to the KOA Campground they offered us a cottage for the night so we could
stay indoors. They owned a few cottages that they rent and since one was vacant tonight we
were welcome to stay in it free of charge, however when they told us where it was we reluctantly
declined as it was in the opposite direction that we needed to be headed. We thanked them and
were off on our way hoping to get to our final destination before dark.
On our way I had my south facing friend Hands Free Bob had contacted the campground on
our way to Gravenhurst and confirmed we could put two tents on one campsite! They had never
heard of that practice before and we were welcome to put both tents on the one site, thank you
very much! It was dark by the time we arrived, but the gentleman at the front desk was friendly
and fast and we were in our tents within the hour. Thanks to the extra distance we covered
today, tomorrow would be a breeze, or at least that was the plan.

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DAY #35 Saturday, September 7, 2013 Mickey Moose

Day#35: 60kms Gravenhurst, ON to Huntsville, ON

I dont know how excited Bob was today, but I looking forward to seeing my wife for the first
time in nearly three weeks. I suppose that workers that go out west or up north are away from
their family longer than that, but they likely did not have to spend 99% of their time with the
same guy! Bob was good company, but every day all day, thats a lot of Bob or Lloyd, depending
on your perspective.
It had rained through the night and there was still a drizzle coming down so we left the KOA
Campground sporting our raingear which would soon get hot and sweaty inside. Today our plan
was to avoid Route 11 if at all possible so we are not placing our safety in jeopardy as we did
yesterday. Also we had plenty of time today and only 60kms to go, or at least that was the initial
plan.
We had eaten our usual intake of granola bars for breakfast, but when we arrived in the town of
Bracebridge we passed a coffee shop on the main street. I asked Bob if he would like to stop
and he gave me the typical Bob response Whatever you think. This time I took it as a yes
and turned into a parking lot so we could turn around and head back to Olivers Coffee which
looked like a busy spot. As we passed through the parking lot an older gentleman was walking
and yelled something to us and laughed. I was not sure I wanted to stop and talk as he had wild
hair and a surplus facial hair so at first glance thought he might be looking for a handout, but he

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just kept walking. We could not have been more wrong the gentleman and it is a good lesson of
never judging a book by the cover. We secured our bike out front of the coffee shop and headed
inside and while in the line-up who walks in and starts asking us questions, but the gentleman
we had just given the cold shoulder. He was funny and laughing and insisted that he pay for our
meal. We felt very humbled and grateful, and when he invited us to sit at a table with him we
obliged and we had great discussions. He had been a geologist and travelled and explored many
regions of Canada and not only was he entertaining to listen to, but everyone in the town
seemed to know him as they would stop at our table to say hello and he would introduce us and
explain the purpose of our trip. It was great experience and I cannot remember what was going
on in the world at this time in 2013, but he became very serious and said he was so inspired by
our trip and wondered why cannot humanity at large do the same and stop with the wars and
just love each other and get along on this little planet. Tears formed in his eyes as he spoke as
he shared something very close to his heart with two kindred spirits. We shook hands, thanked
each other for the company this morning, and then Bob and I were gone again.
Meanwhile Andrea and Ed were looking for us and wondering where we were. We let them know
we were currently headed north on Route 4 and it was not long before they met us on the road
as we were really not that far from Huntsville. It was so great to see them, but we still had more
biking to do today and they wanted us to arrive as soon as possible, so we quickly off loaded all
the extra gear from our bike into the minivan and they were gone and we were eager to finish.
We continued down Route 4, but then missed our turn off. Oops! Thats right I missed another
turnoff. My iPhone has Google Maps App and I can even use it as a GPS like you have in your
vehicle and it will tell you to turn left or right, but it takes too much battery life so I set our route
and turn it off and just stop to check it occasionally. So I was looking for a fork in the road as I
wanted to take Route 141 East, but the fork was not like I expected and was actually hidden by
the trees so much it looked just like a long driveway, so much like Bobs first day on the bike in
Sydney we were going to be putting in an extra 20kms today. The good news is Janus was light
and fast and the terrain was gently rolling so no ridiculous hill climbs. We actually had a great
time and occasionally a very fancy sports car would pass and we would try to figure out the
make. I imagine there are some very expensive cottages in the woods along the hundreds if not
thousands of lakes in the area.
I did say no serious hills, however there were some climbs and also some good slopes downward
on which we would gain some decent speeds of 60-70kms/hr. On one such downhill there was
an unannounced bump in the pavement at the bottom and as we came around the corner and
down the final drop we hit the bump first with the front wheel and then back wheel and then
Janus, Bob and myself were in the air with no more contact with the road. For just a moment
Janus, Bob and I were suspended above the pavement and I held the handlebars tight preparing
for the landing. We landed back to earth still upright and the wheels gave a little chirp as rubber
hit pavement again and we sped down the road towards Huntsville as if this happened all the
time.
We actually had to go past Huntsville and out towards Deerhurst Resort, so Ed had given us the
heads up to get back on Route 11 and go past Huntsville and then take the exit to the resort.
This is more of a direct route to their location and we could avoid the congestion of traffic
through the town as it was fairly busy being a weekend and all the cottagers were around plus all
the athletes and their families here for the Half Ironman. Finally we arrived at the Fairy Bay Bed
& Breakfast which was only 2kms from the Deerhurst Resort where the Half Ironman was being
held tomorrow.
It was a beautiful spot by the lake and Bob and I had time to take all our gear up to our rooms,
store Janus in the shed, have a shower and then we were off to downtown Huntsville. I love to

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visit bike shops and look at all the different bicycles and all the cool gear so I could not resist the
temptation to stop in at the local bike shop in Huntsville. At the bike shop I found a moose that
mounted on your handlebars and when you squeezed it honked. It was in the reduced bin and I
was immediately taken with it so after browsing the store I took it up to the counter. I also
thought I would take the opportunity to get some feedback on our route around Georgian Bay.
The female cyclist I spoke to first was very helpful, but did point out that there is a section north
of Parry Sound that bicycles are prohibited from, but she had cycled it with no issue that
summer. The owner however was much less positive. He warned us off the entire route that not
only would the police prevent us from passing through, but that it was not safe and we would be
harassed by locals passing by in their vehicles. I was not feeling overly confident after that
conversation, but he did donate the moose horn to our trip so I felt it was a small victory and a
good omen. Welcome to the tour Mickey Moose.
The last time we had done laundry was the night prior to arriving in Toronto, so it was a great
opportunity to wash everything. Andrea and I would look after the laundry while Ed and Bob
headed off to Deerhurst Resort to setup the bikes and gear for the Ironman that would start
early tomorrow morning. We would all head out together to have supper and then we were back
at the Bed & Breakfast and off to bed as we would have an early morning and Andrea and Ed
needed to be rested for their race.
DAY #36 Sunday, September 8, 2013 Swim, Bike, Run.
So for one of the first days since this trip had started, it was not about Craig, Bob and myself.
Today was all about Andrea and Ed and we were here to cheer them on and enjoy the day with
them.
No sleeping in today and we were up before the sun rose as Andrea and Ed had to be ready to
go at the start by 8:00am, but first we all needed to get something to eat. Breakfast was perfect
and the owner of the Bed & Breakfast had a full selection of options both hot and cold available
for all the guests. Andrea and Ed were not the only Ironmen staying for the weekend and we
met the other three athletes during breakfast. Our host was playing the role of taxi driver today
as well and took the athletes first as they needed to be there ahead of us. Even though we said
we could walk the short distance, he insisted that as soon as he returned from delivering all the
athletes he would take Bob and I to the Deerhurst Resort where the event was being held as
well.
We made our way through the resort and down to the lake where all the athletes were in their
wetsuits waiting for their wave to start. There are so many participants that they are divided by
sex and by age and a wave starts swimming approximately every fifteen minutes until everyone
is off and swimming. I am terrible at finding people in a crowd, but miraculously we do spot
Andrea and she waves back at us. Each time a wave of swimmers starts, there are so many the
water churns like it is filled with fish and all you see are arms rising and falling amongst the
brightly coloured swim caps. With Andrea and Ed off for the swim section of the race, Bob and I
make our way to the water exit area so we can cheer them on as they come out of the water and
make their way up the hill to the transition zone and onto their bicycle.
Andrea and Ed had done this same event a few years ago and on that day it was a beautiful
warm September day, but not today. It was cool and Bob and I had a couple of layers including
a jacket to break the wind as we tried to stay warm as we stood and waited.
In under half an hour both Andrea and Ed were out of the water and off on their bicycles where
they would be for the next three to four hours. The Half Ironman is technically called Ironman

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70.3 which refers to the total distance the participants will cover in miles. The distances are 1.2
mile or 1.9km swim, followed by a 56 mile or 90km bike ride and finish with a 13.1 mile or
21.1km run. Total distance is 70.3 miles and is exactly half the distance of a full Ironman.
So with Andrea and Ed gone for a few hours Bob and I had some time to ourselves to explore
the resort, however we chose to go indoors to the all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet. We always
get our moneys worth at a buffet and today we ate until we could eat no more. We never waste
a single morsel and each time we went back for more the quantity of food became less and less
as we gradually eliminated any empty spaces in our poor shrunken bellies!
Now we headed back out with the hope of seeing Andrea and Ed come back in from the bike
ride. They arrived and put on their running sneakers and they were gone again. This time they
would be gone for over an hour, so we stayed near the finish line to cheer in the runners as
there were elite participants from around the world here to compete and they are amazing
athletes both male and female. It is hard to imagine these athletes completing the swim, bike
and then almost at the end running in so fast and looking like they could do it all over again.
Ed was back first and then Andrea. The day had gone by so quickly and it was now after 3:00pm
and we were all hungry. We headed back to get ready to enjoy our final meal together and then
off to bed as tomorrow would be an early day again and we would both be going our separate
ways. We had to continue west and they had to return home to Atlantic Canada.

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